Ways to Ignore Telepathy

[theForce017]

So I am in a campaign with another character who just got telepathy this level. He jokingly claims he is going to irritate my character by talking constantly. True or not, I am trying to find a way to "ignore telepathy". The problem lies in the fact that telepathy gives no save. This being the case, items/spells/etc. that gain a bonus to will save for mind-affecting powers are useless. Mind Blank seems to prevent reading thoughts which again is useless. Any and all books are at my disposal and any help would be great. Thanks.

[Hirax]

Just ask your DM if you can make a concentration check to ignore him. There are a scant few prestige classes that interfere with telepathy, but I don't think it'd be worth investing an entire level into dealing with this.

[Jack_Simth]

Here's a few options for you:

1) Block line-of-effect (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/magicOverview/spellDescriptions.htm#lineofEffect). Most forms of telepathy don't explicitly say they bypasses line of effect, so that should work.
2) Telepathy Block, Book of Exalted Deeds.
3) The PrC Hellbreaker (Fiendish Codex II), at level 1, gets Telepathic Static.
4) Autohypnosis (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/skills/autohypnosis.htm)

[Randomguy]

If you found a way to remove all of your languages (programmed amnesia?), he wouldn't be able to communicate with you, but that's only if you're willing to give up speech.

Antimagic fields block telepathy, so see if you can get a custom magic item that encompasses just your head with one. It will probably also make you immune to most mind affecting spells, and will keep your head un-polymorphed if you turn into something, which could be good or bad, depending on whether you'd rather be able to talk or bite/breath fire.

[GoodbyeSoberDay]

If he's only being annoying in character, I'd just play it out and act annoyed. If it gets "too" annoying in character you can threaten him in game to be equally annoying. Get creative.

If he's being annoying OOC, then just tell him OOC to cut it out. If he doesn't, you won't be able to solve it with some IC mind blocker.

[IdleMuse]

What would you do to a character who talked to you constantly with his regular voice? Tell them to shut up. I don't see how this is any different. Either way, he's probably just joking, see how it goes first.

[Slipperychicken]

Same thing you do if someone trolls like that vocally. If you make him roleplay it, he'll get bored fast and probably stop. If he actually does it in character, your character can react accordingly. I suggest getting the rest of the party to support you. If you kill him, you get free WBL.


For reactions, my vote goes to punching him to death while shouting "GET OUT OF MY HEAD YOU ****ING BARD".

[OracleofWuffing]

Earworms. And lots of them. Preferably of the kind that he doesn't like. Disgusting images are also a possibility, but probably beyond the bounds of this board.

[King Atticus]

Either way, he's probably just joking, see how it goes first.

This...if it hasn't happened don't sweat it.

[DemonRoach]

Does he also have to hear everyone else s thoughts? if so there would be avenues to screw him around IC...

[Calanon]

Same thing you do if someone trolls like that vocally. If you make him roleplay it, he'll get bored fast and probably stop. If he actually does it in character, your character can react accordingly. I suggest getting the rest of the party to support you. If you kill him, you get free WBL.


For reactions, my vote goes to punching him to death while shouting "GET OUT OF MY HEAD YOU ****ING BARD".

I fully support this idea :smallbiggrin:

[Madara]

Depends where he's getting telepathy from. If its from mindbender, just be glad he isn't taking mindsight.

[FearlessGnome]

Depends where he's getting telepathy from. If its from mindbender, just be glad he isn't taking mindsight.

Wait, what? Telepathy doesn't automatically eat your next feat and give you Mindsight at that level instead?

[Augmental]

Wait, what? Telepathy doesn't automatically eat your next feat and give you Mindsight at that level instead?

:smallconfused: I'm not sure I get this joke. Is there a feat that gives you mindsight (whatever that does) that's so ridiculously powerful that taking it automatically when you get telepathy is the best option by a huge margin?

[AmberVael]

Yeah, pretty much.

Mindsight essentially gives you Blindsense for the range of your telepathy and telepathy usually has a range of 100ft. Except it isn't actually Blindsense, so things that would work against Blindsense (such as Darkstalker) don't work against it. Also, it tells you the intelligence score and type of all creatures within range.

It's a really really good feat.

[theForce017]

He actually is planning on taking mindsight as well. If there is a way to ignore this as well aside from being on a different plane, I would gladly take it to. I doubt he will completely annoy me (due to the fact he is a close friend) but I would like to be prepared anyway.

[FearlessGnome]

Not by quite the same margin as Natural Spell for druids, but yes, once you have telepathy, taking the feat Mindsight is pretty much an obvious choice, because it's the best form of vision in D&D. It pinpoints absolutely everything that has a mind within the range of your telepathy. It cares not for Invisibility, Hide skill modifier, less than total cover, total concealment, magical items, Hide in Plain Sight, or anything else. If your telepathy is supernatural, an Antimagic field will keep it in check, but it's usually Extraordinary, and so isn't even blocked by that.

[Psyren]

Nothing about telepathy specifies the "volume." What makes you think it will be impossible to ignore?

[Arbane]

Lead sheet.

"Stop oppressing my culture, you ethnocentric sonofabitch!"

[Calanon]

Nothing about telepathy specifies the "volume." What makes you think it will be impossible to ignore?

a whisper is harder to ignore in your head then a loud shouting noise... When you hear whispers in your head sometimes you mistake them for your own thoughts and actually act them out, Hearing a whisper in your head over and over again saying "Kill the Cleric, Kill the Cleric, Kill the Cleric" your going to mistake it for your own thoughts and actually kill the cleric :smallfrown:

Sometimes a prophet can't tell if his god is whispering to him or his own madness speaking back to him...

[peacenlove]

An active defense would be Supernatural Instincts, which activate an AoO every time an opponent uses a (Su) ability. Telepathy (just like normal conversation) is a free action to use, so any time he speaks to you, just slap him before he starts :smalltongue:

A more extreme measure would be the Mind blank spell.

EDIT:


a whisper is harder to ignore in your head then a loud shouting noise... When you hear whispers in your head sometimes you mistake them for your own thoughts and actually act them out, Hearing a whisper in your head over and over again saying "Kill the Cleric, Kill the Cleric, Kill the Cleric" your going to mistake it for your own thoughts and actually kill the cleric :smallfrown:

Sometimes a prophet can't tell if his god is whispering to him or his own madness speaking back to him...


A creature with this ability can communicate telepathically with any other creature within a certain range (specified in the creature’s entry, usually 100 feet) that has a language. It is possible to address multiple creatures at once telepathically, although maintaining a telepathic conversation with more than one creature at a time is just as difficult as simultaneously speaking and listening to multiple people at the same time.

Telepathic conversation != whispers. You know who is talking to you via telepathy and he can respond to you just as easy as long as you maintain the link.

[Calanon]

A more extreme measure would be the Mind blank spell.

You and me have to different definitions of "extreme" :smallconfused:

Extreme for me would be to Feeblemind the damned creature trying to get into my head then torture him for the rest of his mentally nerfed life storing each and every memory of every single lash of pain I inflict on him then when he is near the end of his life restore his mind and then flood it with every single moment of my "fun" with his pathetic mortal form...

BUT thats just me, imo your method of "just ignore him" seems a little to lenient...


Telepathic conversation != whispers. You know who is talking to you via telepathy and he can respond to you just as easy as long as you maintain the link.

I'm still looking for where it says that the listener is automatically aware of who and what is talking to him... :smallconfused:

[ShneekeyTheLost]

Start mentally singing selected works of Dr. Demento, They Might Be Giants, Weird Al, and skits from Monty Python's Flying Circus. The Lumberjack song, in particular, springs to mind.

Trust me, he'll be doing everything he can to *prevent* having to link up with you.

[2xMachina]

a whisper is harder to ignore in your head then a loud shouting noise... When you hear whispers in your head sometimes you mistake them for your own thoughts and actually act them out, Hearing a whisper in your head over and over again saying "Kill the Cleric, Kill the Cleric, Kill the Cleric" your going to mistake it for your own thoughts and actually kill the cleric :smallfrown:

Sometimes a prophet can't tell if his god is whispering to him or his own madness speaking back to him...

Huh, when I 'hear' my thoughts, they aren't whispers... It might depend on the person.

[Calanon]

Huh, when I 'hear' my thoughts, they aren't whispers... It might depend on the person.

My thoughts are in whispers :smallconfused: I don't shout inside my own head... I hate echos :smalltongue:

[peacenlove]

You and me have to different definitions of "extreme" :smallconfused:


BUT thats just me, imo your method of "just ignore him" seems a little to lenient...



I'm still looking for where it says that the listener is automatically aware of who and what is talking to him... :smallconfused:

"Extreme" as in "available from level 15 earliest".
Not as "sell his soul to a demon lord and force his/her loved ones to watch him suffer for eternity via full sensory link (or adding to the irony, via Mindsight)" :smalltongue:

Also not exactly aware who is talking, but certainly aware that someone is talking to you. But maybe it's just my bad english doing their dirty work. :smallsigh:

[TypoNinja]

Start mentally singing selected works of Dr. Demento, They Might Be Giants, Weird Al, and skits from Monty Python's Flying Circus. The Lumberjack song, in particular, springs to mind.

Trust me, he'll be doing everything he can to *prevent* having to link up with you.

Henry the Eighth, I am, I am....

[Acanous]

you folk actually think in words? o.0
What language do you think in, then?

Anyhow, I know a few ways:

Plane Shift (Astral/Etherial/Shadow) would get you immunity to his bickering while still being able to navigate and "See" The prime material.
as such, Blink would cut him off 20-50% of the time, depending on what you're doing.

Mind Blank should suffice as ear-plugs.

Iron Heart Surge would end his ability to communicate telepathically with you, and give you a bonus, besides. This use of IHS may actually be approved by your DM.

Autohypnosis, and now you don't hear it anymore.

Finally, if all that fails, just shank the numpty.

[2xMachina]

Hmm, I think some people think in pictures. I used to, but my picture thinking got blurry (funnily, starting when I 1st needed glasses). Now I think in English words (which isn't my 1st language. It has since became my main language though).

[Kalmageddon]

Counter attack by asking the DM if you can buy a magical object that constantly broadcasts this sound (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKAyhLtiKEA), that only creatures with telepaty can hear.

[BobVosh]

I don't think in words or pictures. I just think...thoughts? I then ...mentally articulate them to myself. This is actually hard to explain, as I understand what I'm thinking before I make the words that describe the thoughts.

[SilverLeaf167]

I don't think in words or pictures. I just think...thoughts? I then ...mentally articulate them to myself. This is actually hard to explain, as I understand what I'm thinking before I make the words that describe the thoughts.
Same here. I think that if I thought in words, I wouldn't have so much trouble explaining what I'm trying to say. :smallamused:
I don't know why, but I'm somehow much better at expressing my thoughts through writing than talking, so... maybe I actually think in text or something?

[Analytica]

There should be a spell that summons a minor outsider of nasty countenance, then puts its mind in as a proxy of yours with respect to telepathy. Imp answering machine. Anyone trying to communicate will get the lurid imagination of a demonic creature talking back, instead.

[Need_A_Life]

Supernatural Opportunist will do the trick. Punch that guy in the face!
Or, accept that you have to listen to him. Then punch him in the face!
Or, warn him to stay out of your head. No excuses. If he persists, slit his throat in the dead of night.

... Feeblemind will also rob him of languages, thus ensuring that he won't contact you. If he's a Wis-based character, he might not even become less effective, but infinitely easier to convince.

[Psyren]

a whisper is harder to ignore in your head then a loud shouting noise... When you hear whispers in your head sometimes you mistake them for your own thoughts and actually act them out, Hearing a whisper in your head over and over again saying "Kill the Cleric, Kill the Cleric, Kill the Cleric" your going to mistake it for your own thoughts and actually kill the cleric :smallfrown:

Sometimes a prophet can't tell if his god is whispering to him or his own madness speaking back to him...

According to who? How many people have telepathically communicated with you in the past year?

I see it as no more difficult to shut out that someone murmuring to himself in the library or on a bus.


Anyway, this entire thread is moot. Nothing about Telepathy allows you to distract people, drive them crazy, make them hear things etc. Any mechanical effect the OP's friend hopes to get out of this is utter homebrew and should be summarily ignored.

"I begin a constant stream of-"
"That's nice, my character ignores you and continues doing what he was doing."

[OracleofWuffing]

you folk actually think in words? o.0
What language do you think in, then?
Drow Sign Language, with a CSS for the formatting.

[Rubik]

Mind blank spell.You do realize that telepathy isn't mind-affecting, right?

[Madara]

He actually is planning on taking mindsight as well. If there is a way to ignore this as well aside from being on a different plane, I would gladly take it to. I doubt he will completely annoy me (due to the fact he is a close friend) but I would like to be prepared anyway.

And thus we reach a terrible point. Props to him for going after Mindsight. Nope, you can't do squat about it. Beside the "ignore him" route. Personally, I did this we my character(Gnome Illusionist who dipped Mindbender). Its not too bad, and just go along with it. Pretend its awesome, say "Hey, you should mess with that shopkeeper's head. Maybe start singing in it or something." Then he'll bug NPCs, not you.

I wouldn't worry, because he won't do it constantly, and it doesn't get in the way of your actions. Also, feel free to point out how poorly defined Telepathy is, and the fact that using it takes a standard action.

[MukkTB]

There is no mechanical effect of him doing this. There is no mechanical effect of him blabbering out of his mouth either.

The DM might houserule something to punish you. But none of that is RAW. A good DM would probably consider this. Talking constantly means monsters are going to hear you coming. You might actually attract things by doing that. Psychic constant chatter may attract some very weird things. These things are likely to go after the source of the chatter.


So is the DM more likely to creat house rules for you becoming insane, or is he going to have some psychic monster come munch on your friend's brain?

[Kaeso]

True or not, I am trying to find a way to "ignore telepathy".

:thog: punch talky man until he stops moving

[CTrees]

:vaarsuvius: As the size of an explosion increases, the number of social situations it is incapable of solving approaches zero.

[peacenlove]

You do realize that telepathy isn't mind-affecting, right?

Just read it, and you are right. Just another obsolete remnant of 2nd/3.0 edition information wiped from my mind (there mind blank specifically mentioned telepathy). :smallsigh:

[Dead_Jester]

Get a tin foil hat. If it somehow doesn't work, attempt to place one over his head (preferably without him noticing). If it still doesn't work, than the gods are against you, and it's pretty much hopeless unless you want to spend some actual resources on this. You should however still keep the hat to protect yourself from cosmic radiation and/or possession attempts.

[Piggy Knowles]

Pretty sure the only RAW way is the Hellbreaker's telepathic static ability.

That said, the Hellbreaker (Fiendish Codex II) in general is a very cool class, especially if your focus is stealth. The pre-reqs are a pain (three subpar feats), but if you can qualify, you get telepathic static and a hide in plain sight ability at level one. If you stay with the class, you get the ability to steal SLAs and supernatural abilities, suppress summoning in an area, stow away when enemies teleport, and more. Plus, you get excellent skills and sneak attack. Not too bad, all things considered...

[theForce017]

Here's a few options for you:

1) Block line-of-effect (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/magicOverview/spellDescriptions.htm#lineofEffect). Most forms of telepathy don't explicitly say they bypasses line of effect, so that should work.
2) Telepathy Block, Book of Exalted Deeds.
3) The PrC Hellbreaker (Fiendish Codex II), at level 1, gets Telepathic Static.
4) Autohypnosis (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/skills/autohypnosis.htm)

Thank you for this. One of the only helpful and actual in-game mechanics aside from literally "ignore" him. I appreciate it. :smallsmile:


You do realize that telepathy isn't mind-affecting, right?

Again, thank you for realizing this.


:thog: punch talky man until he stops moving

Absolutely hilarious and awesome

[Gavinfoxx]

Get a tin LEAD foil hat.

There. FTFY.

[Lysander]

I think you should be able to make a concentration check to just ignore it.

I'd use the same rules as for when you're distracted by a non-damaging spell, which is that the concentration DC equals the spell's save DC. And
"If the spell allows no save, use the save DC it would have if it did allow a save."

I'd extend that to apply to effects that aren't spells.

And like people have said, there's no mechanical downsides to failing this check. So you can just roleplaying annoyance, and if it gets really bad enter a Belkar/Vaarsuvius type prank war.

[Wings of Peace]

Maybe it's just me but this thread seems way too serious for what sounds like an offhand joke that could be solved via roleplay if it actually became realized.

[Arbane]

Bozo: "I'm going to keep up a steady stream of telepathic babble to-"
You: "Okay, roleplay it."
Bozo: "Huh?"
You: "ROLEPLAY IT. Start yammering. The DM will tell you when it's time to shut up by dropping elephants on you."

[Psyren]

Maybe it's just me but this thread seems way too serious for what sounds like an offhand joke that could be solved via roleplay if it actually became realized.

I agree. This insistence on finding "mechanical solutions" is just going to encourage further disruptions of this kind.

[DemonRoach]

Ah, found it! (http://www.biggercheese.com/index.php?comic=74)

[Stubbed Tongue]

Doesn't using telepathy require a standard action? If so, make sure your DM holds him accountable for wasting his round.

Also couldn't you disrupt his concentration?

Or better yet, if he is using a spell just make sure you wake him up a couple times during the night. After one day of no new spells memorized he will probably stop.That should solve the problem.

[Rubik]

Doesn't using telepathy require a standard action? If so, make sure your DM holds him accountable for wasting his round.

Also couldn't you disrupt his concentration?

Or better yet, if he is using a spell just make sure you wake him up a couple times during the night. After one day of no new spells memorized he will probably stop.That should solve the problem.It only requires a standard action if it's Su, and it doesn't require concentration to maintain, so once it's on it's always on, and there's no way to turn it off again.

[Stubbed Tongue]

It only requires a standard action if it's Su, and it doesn't require concentration to maintain, so once it's on it's always on, and there's no way to turn it off again.

Yep. But I guess the question is whether it is EX or SU or a spell.

[ShriekingDrake]

Bozo: "I'm going to keep up a steady stream of telepathic babble to-"
You: "Okay, roleplay it."
Bozo: "Huh?"
You: "ROLEPLAY IT. Start yammering. The DM will tell you when it's time to shut up by dropping elephants on you."

I like this as a solution. As long as he stops talking, you're free not to hear him. Or, as has been suggested, the brother trucker has to sleep some time. And, you can certainly plead insanity.

[maysarahs]

It may just be telepathy spells that have this requirement but I think the target has to be willing to receive the mental communication, (I'd houserule it as "as long as the target is not unwilling")

Or of course as has already been mentioned, punch him in the mind-throat. That should leave him mind-gasping for air for a few minutes, hopefully mind-hoarse for weeks after that?

[Hecuba]

Lead sheet.

Were this 2nd edition, there would be precedent for this working.

[Necroticplague]

If he's going to mess with your head with telepathy, just remember the link is two-way. Simply start putting music on loop whenever he starts yammering until it annoys him and you both agree to stop. A similar situation came up during a game I played, and the wizard soon found that my bard's idle thought process was "I know a song that will drive you nuts and this is how it goes:I know a song that will drive you nuts and this is how it goes:I know a song that will drive you nuts and this is how it goes:..." Or, if you feel like bneing creative, maybe your character and his think in different ways (you "hear" your thought process, he "sees" his) that make telepathic communication difficult because you have to convert it both ways. Or just argue "People naturally learn to ignore repetitive stimuli, the reason you aren't feeling your shirt right now, unless it is really uncomfortable. Thus, my character ignores his repetitive yammering, but notices his nonrepetitive important information."

[Need_A_Life]

Wait, in Dragon Compendium there's the Cerebrex. A caster PrC with ½ casting progression :smallyuk: who at 5th level gains immunity to "all forms of telepathy or mind reading. She may suppress and reactivate this immunity at will, as a free action."
Of course, it's a horribly underpowered PrC, but it's possible.

[Misery Esquire]

I suggest a lead sheet, myself. (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0281.html)

[pwykersotz]

Maybe it's just me but this thread seems way too serious for what sounds like an offhand joke that could be solved via roleplay if it actually became realized.


It's not necessarily as offhand as you'd think. IRL, I tend toward lawful, and my group tends toward chaotic. Every time I would use telepathy, they would sing "I'm a tumor, I'm a tumor, I'm a tumor" consistently and out loud. The GM and all the other players thought this was hilarious, even though it consistently slowed/stopped game. It certainly got me to stop using what should have been a beneficial power. Some people are just that way.

[Rubik]

I suggest a lead sheet, myself. (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0281.html)That's not something mentioned as able to block telepathy.

In fact, other than the already-mentioned classes by the other posters, I don't there IS a way to block it.

[The Glyphstone]

If you want to go the 'earworm' route, bring a laptop/MP3 player and a set of headphones to games. Have your annoying, repetitive song on a looping or really-long file, and insist he put the headphones on whenever he tries to establish communication with you.

[Averis Vol]

Counter attack by asking the DM if you can buy a magical object that constantly broadcasts this sound (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKAyhLtiKEA), that only creatures with telepaty can hear.

i second this :smallbiggrin: been ages since i saw this movie.